Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi formally announced Saturday he has endorsed two candidates in the race to replace termed out District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly.

An advocate of ranked-choice voting, Mirkarimi said he co-endorsed School Board President Jane Kim and Building Inspections Commissioner Debra Walker. Both Kim and Walker are considered the leading progressive candidates in the race for the open seat.

“The rationale for endorsing two is because I go back many years with both Jane and Debra,” Mirkarimi said. “They’re good people. I’ve worked with them in different capacities and regard both of them very highly. It’s a natural tension point that I know people have been trying to reconcile because they like both of them and I think District 6 would benefit extremely well by either one of them being representatives.”

Mirkarimi made the announcement Saturday afternoon before joining Kim and campaign crews under soggy skies to canvass the District and hand out campaign literature. If asked to do so, Mirkarimi said is he willing to canvass for the Walker campaign as well.

Kim and Mirkarimi are both former Green Party turned Democrat Party registrants.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi canvasses on behalf of Jane Kim.

Ross Mirkarimi with Jane Kim and campaign volunteers.

With just eight-days before voters cast their ballots on November 2, Mirkarimi, who has endorsed Janet Reilly in District 2, Rafael Mandelman in District 8 and Eric Smith in District 10, told FCJ he initially hesitated to endorse in the District 6 race. That hesitation, he said, arose in large part because of a schism that has divided the progressive camp and resulted in negative attacks between Kim and Walker campaign supporters.

Insiders believe the negative campaigning could have been mitigated by an agreed ranked-choice endorsement strategy between Kim and Walker, a strategy that would also help to maximize the probability of holding the District 6 seat in the hands of progressives.

Walker, who was the only District 6 candidate endorsed by the San Francisco Democratic Party, has refused to endorse any fellow progressive candidates, while Kim, whose overture to Walker for endorsement talks were rebuffed, has co-endorsed Glendon “Anna Conda” Hyde and James Keys. Neither Hyde nor Keys are expected to win the contest, but their candidatures and second-place votes are expected to have a significant impact on the final outcome in what is expected to be a close race.

“I think that’s really unfortunate,” Mirkarimi said, referring to the divisions within the progressive camp, “which is why after a lot of consideration on what I’m going to do in District 6 and, frankly, I thought about not endorsing at all, but I didn’t want any candidates to think I didn’t care, or that I didn’t support them, so that’s why I want to gesture the positive for two people I care about.”

“I think they just need to keep the larger picture in mind and the long view, and that is, progressives should not turn on progressives – and that might be difficult for some pockets of San Francisco’s political veterans,” Mirkarimi added. “I think IRV requires people to work a little bit harder and be a little more imaginative and creative in building and fostering, I think, the kind of commonality amongst candidates who are ultimately competitors to really nurture a process that makes the constituents and the general public feel turned on, not turned off.”

Despite the negative intra-progressive campaigning in the D6 race, Mirkarimi said he remains firmly committed to supporting the expansion of ranked-choice voting to State and Federal elections. “I think IRV (instant runoff voting) is the smart way to go in dealing with a democracy that gets tortured and twisted by special interests and the power of money,” he said.

Asked if there would be any lessons learned if District 6 is lost to downtown, Mirkarimi said, “There’s a number of lessons, but I don’t want to talk about losing District 6 right now, because I don’t think we will.”

Editor’s Note: Luke Thomas is a resident and voter in District 6. In the interest of transparency, he has provided photography services to the campaigns of Jane Kim, Jim Meko and Debra Walker.

Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

…oh yeah, while I’m here, most of the murmuring and mumbling I am hearing seems to indicate that the smart money is on Leland ? What about that h.
One down, -Three to go.
Glad Benjie had a good game.
Hope he sucks the rest of the way.

The only real difference it might make is that, in same way Adachi alienated many progressives and blew his chances with Prop B, this could probably also greatly reduce Mirkarimi’s faint hope of becoming Mayor, unless he continues compromising and goes even deeper into the dark side downtown. Oh how far have the once mighty and magnificent fallen. But that’s politics SF style.

greg kamin

October 27, 2010 at 4:37 pm

So has Ross gone to walk precincts with his other ‘co-endorsed” candidate, Debra Walker?

lisapelletier

October 27, 2010 at 4:06 pm

@Brian, Can’t speak for Jane but she seems to be in good spirits. She’s smiling and no doubt delighted that Mirkarimi has endorsed her and has shown up in spite of the rain to walk precincts for her. Mirkarimi probably knows that she doesn’t need a man to protect her. Doesn’t look like it’s raining all that hard anyway. Glad to know how gallant you are. Be sure to grab every opportunity to take potshots at Luke and other progressives who get under your skin. Nice to know there’s still some civility in this world.

Brian Wallace

October 26, 2010 at 9:29 pm

I realize Jane Kim was wearing a hooded rain coat on this most rainy of rainy days but, God, that top photo of Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi holding HIS umbrella completely over HIS head and not sharing his umbrella with Jane Kim speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

Male or female. Hooded or non-hooded. I always make a concerted effort to hold my umbrella over my walking companion’s head.

@Ralph – actually Ross can’t vote for D6 Supervisor at all. I’m the only Supe with a vote, and I will be casting it for James Keys.

Most people outside of District 6 seem to think that James Keys can’t win. You actually have to start talking to D6 voters before you realize he can.

Ralph

October 25, 2010 at 5:33 am

Mirkarimi’s “co-endorsement” is an easy way out. He cannot vote for both as his first choice. It would be more meaningful if he said he was voting for either Walker or Kim as his first choice and the other as his second choice. Guess he is trying to have his cake and eat it too.